


Nikon D3500

by panyang



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Amusement Parks, Awkwardness, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, Music, Photography, my meager offering for the treasure trove that is the miwalisa tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26792485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panyang/pseuds/panyang
Summary: “It’s not about the camera,” Miwa replies. “It’s really more about what you want to capture. The moment you want to make last.”Alisa looks up at her briefly, something flashing in her eyes as she quirks her mouth up. “Do all photographers talk about the moment they want to make last?” she teases.Miwa snorts. “When they have one they like enough to remember, I guess.”In which Kageyama Miwa, the inventor of the gay panic, falls in love with her housemate's friend over the course of a week.
Relationships: Haiba Alisa/Kageyama Miwa
Comments: 14
Kudos: 29





	Nikon D3500

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bublitz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bublitz/gifts).



> hello!!! this fic is for my new friend vic, who has yelled with me about rio oihina and yuzuru hanyu, the only two things that are regularly in my brain at any given time. i hope you enjoy this vic, and thank you for your patience!! MWAH
> 
> this takes place in its own au, i just borrow some elements from canon to toss in here. just light hearted, fluffy goodness, fresh out the oven
> 
> enjoy!

**SUNDAY**

"She's a longtime friend," is the first thing Hitoka says when Miwa opens the door. 

She looks slightly frazzled, though to be fair, Hitoka always looks slightly frazzled. Frazzled Hitoka is Normal Hitoka, so Miwa knows not to be too worried that she’s home early and is standing next to a very tall, very beautiful girl that she does not recognize. 

“Okay,” Miwa starts, unsure of what Hitoka means. And it would be okay, because she’s left the door open and has already turned away from it when she hears the tiniest, softest little meow. Miwa whips her head back so fast she gets the little crick in her neck that makes her want to do a little scream.

There is a cat carrier on the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Hitoka says immediately, which is surprising. She can’t be apologizing about the cat, Miwa thinks. Hitoka is a tiny little ball of nerves, but there are three things in life she’ll never apologize for no matter who she’s speaking to: cats; the importance of McNuggets in maintaining a peaceful, civilized society; and the fact that anything written in the Curlz font needs to be set on fire. Miwa looks at the stranger one more time--wow--before stepping back to swing the door open wider.

Before anything, it’s important that you know that Miwa doesn’t _hate_ cats. She doesn’t. 

It's the cats that hate _her_. The same way dogs do, and birds, and that one rabbit they tried to keep when she was in third grade. To this day she will swear up and down that that rabbit’s teeth were not only for chewing through carrots and toilet paper cores, they were also for biting her fingers off. 

Hitoka had ushered the newcomer inside, this tall, slender girl with the longest legs she’d ever seen, with light, blonde hair that almost reached her waist. Miwa sits on the couch, takes her phone out from between the cushions, and goes on Instagram. She hasn’t got the first clue as to what Hitoka was apologizing for, but Hitoka was almost always apologizing anyway, so she doesn’t think much of it. She’s probably just sorry she’s made Miwa get up from off the couch to answer the door. From out of the corner of her eye, she sees the two girls move to rest on the single seaters, but she doesn’t do anything about it. This is Hitoka’s guest, after all. So she just stays on her phone and looks over her friends’ artful photos. This goes on for a few minutes, presumably would have gone on for longer, except that she hears Hitoka clear her throat meaningfully. Her eyes leave the screen to move towards them, before again falling to the cat carrier on the floor next to the duffel bags. The duffel bags. Which she also does not recognize.

“I’m sorry,” she says again. So that’s what she was apologizing for.

“I know I should’ve asked for permission first,” Hitoka says weakly, “but Alisa is great. I can totally vouch for her." There is another soft, small meow from beneath them.

“Okay.” Miwa says, putting her phone down. “Start from the beginning.”

  
  


The beginning is too far back, Hitoka realizes mid-recounting of the beginning, so she cuts herself off to talk about how Alisa’s apartment doesn’t allow pets of any kind. It was a long-standing rule, and a rule Alisa had followed well, for the most part. But Lev, her brother, had found this stray kitten wandering outside his dorm, and well _his_ dorm didn’t allow pets either, and oh, _nee-chan_ , I can’t just leave her here! Lev really couldn’t. But neither could she. Remember Alisa’s apartment not allowing pets of any kind?

Miwa nods. “That’s some foreshadowing,” she says. “How’d your landlord find out about it?”

“He saw her climb in and out the window a couple times. Sent my cousin to check, too.” Alisa says. This is probably the first time she’s spoken to Miwa since she got here, but Miwa doesn’t blame her. Looking approachable isn’t one of her stronger suits. 

“Your cousin?” she asks.

Alisa nods. It makes her hanging pearl earrings shake, and Miwa notices a matching necklace, this single pearl resting on her collarbone, hanging from a thin, silver chain on her neck. Alisa very clearly knows how to dress. “My landlord is my uncle,” Alisa explains. It interrupts Miwa’s musings, and her eyes flit back to meet hers. 

“I see,” Miwa says, still slightly distracted, then, “Wait. What? Shouldn’t he be nicer to you, then?”

Alisa only shrugs. “We don’t like each other. Family thing.

“Then why do you rent from him?” This one makes her pause, her pretty pink mouth turning in thought, before she finally settles on, “It’s complicated. Family thing.” Miwa raises her eyebrows a bit, but doesn’t say anything for a moment. “So you’re giving us--you’re giving Yachi your cat?” 

“Not.. really?” Hitoka says slowly. Miwa keeps her expression schooled into something calm, even as she realizes this situation is just becoming decidedly more complicated than she'd like for it to be. “Did you get kicked out?” she tries, and Alisa grins. Her teeth are straight and pretty--Miwa’s never thought of teeth as _pretty_ \--and startlingly white. “Bingo!” 

There’s a pause as the three of them just sit there awkwardly, before Miwa finally shrugs and says, “Okay.” 

“Okay?” Hitoka echoes, as if to say _that’s it?_ Miwa nods. “You’re allowed to have guests over, you know.” Hitoka slumps back into her seat in relief, and she watches as Alisa’s shoulders relax. “Okay. Hang on, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping, Alisa-san.”

Hitoka gets on her feet and walks out of the living room. Alisa trails behind her, but not before pausing at the doorway and saying, “Pardon the intrusion, and thank you very much.” There it is again, that kilowatt smile Alisa has, big and bright and grateful. Miwa thinks she must leave a trail of broken hearts wherever she goes, if she smiles like that all the time.

Miwa lifts her cup of tea at her in acknowledgement, feels a little rude for not using her words, then quickly says, “No problem. Uh, helping out a friend. Of a friend. Is good.” Way to go.

  
  
  


Miwa doesn’t bother asking where Hitoka intends for her to stay; their place is a three bedroom apartment. She’d always thought finding one as nice as this was a bit of a steal. They're in a great location close to a lot of nice places, and that grocery down the block always has stock of her favorite kind of powdered miso soup. Work is close by. There’s this fancy-looking mall that she still hasn’t fully explored despite having lived next to it for three months now, and downstairs is the nicest yoghurt shop she’d ever been at that served fresh fruit unfailingly, and had a really good WiFi connection.

The third bedroom was Hitoka’s when they first moved in. It only changed when Miwa had gone to visit home for the holidays, then came back to Hitoka and Kiyoko making out on the couch. Hitoka squeaked, Kiyoko sat back from where she was pushing Hitoka against the armrest, and Miwa shrugged before heading to her room.

“Took you both long enough,” was all she had to say when they brought it up over dinner. And then also, “Are you guys going to be sharing a room now? Because I could totally borrow space for my equipment.” Kiyoko and Hitoka shared a look, and that was it. 

The room was converted into a storage area of sorts. Hitoka had gotten into painting in high school, so she brought most of her art supplies with her through college. They were also stored here, for when she didn’t need them for class, or if she was too busy cramming for exams to paint. Kiyoko had gotten a stationary bike at one point, and now that was left here too.

Hitoka hadn’t bothered moving most of her original things out, so it looks mostly the same it did when she was still using it, besides the new stuff. She and Kiyoko had opted to instead redesign Kiyoko’s room, switching out her single bed for a queen sized one, and moving her unused things into the old room. It’s pretty well-maintained, despite the absence of an occupant. A little cramped, with all the boxes, but not cluttered.

At one point the two girls come back into the living room to get Alisa’s bags. They’re large and heavy, or maybe Hitoka is just that tiny, because she looks like you could fold her up and fit her inside. Alisa walks back into the room after having gotten the rest of her things, before bending down to pick up her cat carrier and placing it on the coffee table. There’s a shuffling noise that comes from inside, and Miwa remembers the cat, so she stands up, excuses herself, and heads to her room.

Miwa realizes that looking sociable and cordial isn’t really her thing. That’s because it isn’t. She doesn’t mean to be rude, or seem like she doesn’t care about Alisa, who just got kicked out by her uncle, of all people, over a cat. She does. But it’s just that she’s not really sure how involved she’s expected to be about some things sometimes. 

The main thing here was that she was Yachi’s guest, not hers. She’ll be polite, of course, show her the bathroom and teach her about how the shower works, because their shower is weird as hell. She’ll offer beer from the fridge when she’s having some and she’ll say good morning to her the way she does with Yachi and Kiyoko when they pass each other in the kitchen. That’s all that needs to be done. 

So she can’t figure out why she’s so concerned about coming off as unfriendly towards Alisa. She’d come off as unfriendly to other people before. Hell, she comes off as unfriendly more often than not. But then Alisa has this smile that starts at the corner of her mouth, before it shifts to something bigger and brighter, and Miwa wants.. Miwa wants to be her friend. At least she thinks so. 

It’s hard to say. 

  
  


**MONDAY**

Last night was Kiyoko’s turn to cook for the apartment and take care of the dishes, so Miwa mostly stayed in her room after the meal. Alisa, Miwa finds out, is a very animated talker. She finds conversation in every single thing that’s happened to her or she’s done, or has happened to someone else or they’ve done. She’s just so bright and perky and stunning, and Miwa thinks people like that aren’t people you can look at very long. But she’d wanted to look longer anyway, her eyes settling on her between bites. Alisa catches her look sometimes, but she always smiles at her like it’s the easiest thing in the world, so Miwa relaxes. 

Today is Hitoka’s turn to cook. She’s always up early, even when she’s not the one taking care of the meals for the day, and Miwa bumps into her in the kitchen when she gets up to make herself some coffee.

“Good morning, Yacchan,” she says. 

“Ah, morning Miwa!” she says cheerfully. “Did you sleep well?”

“Much,” Miwa replies. She reaches for the coffee maker and gets to preparing herself a cup. “You?”

“I slept good!” Hitoka says. “A little late, but good. Alisa and I stayed up a little late catching up, but that’s it.” Miwa remembers that Hitoka said they were longtime friends. “Did you know each other from high school?” she asks. 

“Yup!” is her reply. The coffee maker makes that little gurgling noise as it runs, and Miwa leans on the counter, facing her. 

“She and her brother went to Karasuno high,” Hitoka explains. “I’m pretty sure they both know Tobio, Lev was in the volleyball team too.” Tobio had never really mentioned any foreign students in his school, but then again he wasn’t particularly better than her at making friends or being with people. Speaking of foreign, “What nationality is she? She doesn’t look like she’s just Japanese.”

Hitoka nods. “She’s Russian! Well, half-Russian. I think her mom was a flight stewardess and her parents met on a plane.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Miwa says. “And also dramatic. I don’t think I know anyone with any love stories that take place thirty thousand feet in the air.” Hitoka smiles, laughing a little. “No, we have to get ours on the ground like peasants.” Miwa snorts at that. The coffee maker clicks off, and she reaches into the cupboard overhead for a mug. “I guess so.”

She must’ve sounded sad about it, or something, because Hitoka backtracks, waving her hands vigorously in front of her face. “I don’t mean it to sound bad! Love stories on the ground aren’t any less valuable than the ones that happen in the sky!” she pauses, like she realizes what she said sounds a bit weird. “I mean--”

“I get it, Yacchan! Don’t worry,” Miwa reassures her. She smiles too, that soft one that comes easily when she’s around people she likes. Hitoka visibly relaxes. Maybe she’s not that bad at coming off as friendly, sometimes.

Hitoka grabs her apron from a hook on the wall and puts it on herself. “So,” she says. “Does omelette sound good to you?”

Omelette does sound good to Miwa, and to Alisa too. In fact, it sounds so good to her that she goes back into her room, rummages through her things for a few minutes before reemerging and wielding a bottle of--

“Is that Japanese mayo?” Kiyoko asks. She’s setting the table and has her hair up in a ponytail. “You just, carry around a bottle of Japanese mayo with you?”

“I do!” Alisa cheers. Her face is pure, unbridled joy. “It’s the best thing ever, I found out about it when I was having tonkatsu with Lyovochka a few years ago.” Miwa looks puzzled, and Alisa amends, “Lyovochka is Lev, my baby brother,” she says. Now Miwa is still confused, because, “ _Baby_ brother? I thought he went to highschool with you,” she says, turning to Hitoka. “Was he an underclassman?”

But Alisa waves her phone in Miwa’s face before Hitoka can answer, and well, she’s never seen anyone look _less_ like a baby in her whole life. On her screen is a photo of her standing next to a tall, very tall boy with the same light-colored hair and bright, green eyes.

“That,” Miwa starts, “is a _big_ baby.” Despite his height, Lev looks to be the same age as Yachi and Tobio, so she figures they must have all been in the same year.

“He really is,” Alisa coos. “He’s my little Lyovochka, even if he’s taller than me now. He played volleyball in his high school, he was the ace!” she says. Miwa knows that’s untrue--Tobio had played volleyball, and their ace was this large, shy guy with long hair, and then when he graduated was replaced by this third year with a buzzed head and a cartilage piercing.

But Alisa doesn’t seem to be lying, at least not on purpose. And Yachi is smiling awkwardly, but isn’t correcting her, so she must also know that’s not true. She figures that’s just an older sister thing. She’d tell the whole world Tobio was the best setter in all of Japan, and that’s because she actually thinks he is. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t get into that big school he’d wanted to be at. You can be the best regardless of where you’re planted, or whatever nugget of wisdom it is that their grandad might tell them.

“This looks so good,” Alisa says, pulling out a chair and immediately piling her omelette high with mayo. “Thank you for the meal!

  
  


Hitoka and Kiyoko both have to leave for class later that day. Hitoka is a second year studying design, and Kiyoko is in medicine. Miwa graduated last year in business, but she works at the photography studio down the street, and she’s not really needed to come in today. The main thing that keeps her occupied is her work in concert photography, and she hasn’t really got any bookings today. She has no idea what Alisa does for a living, but looking at the long legs and immaculate skin, Miwa figures she wouldn’t be too surprised if she works in the modeling industry. Miwa means to ask about it over their meal, but Hitoka and Kiyoko both need to leave early. 

“Why must you leave me alone,” she whispers loudly at Kiyoko, who is helping put the dishes away across the kitchen. Alisa can’t hear her because she’s in her room, but Miwa finds herself looking at the closed bathroom door anyway. “I can’t skip classes,” Kiyoko says easily. Beside her, Hitoka finishes drying the last of the plates. 

“Neither can I, Miwa-san, sorry. I have a big test today.”

Miwa slumps back over the table. “Please Kiyoko, don’t leave meeee,” she whines. 

“I have to,” Kiyoko says without missing a beat. “For the future of medicine in Japan.” Miwa would counter that, except that Kiyoko really is smart. She knows she probably said that as a joke, but she definitely was bound to do crazy things in the medical field. “But it’s gonna be so weird,” Miwa reasons, face still smooshed on the table. “I don’t know her.”

“Then get to know her,” Kiyoko replies. “You don’t have work today, right? Go out, visit the park or something. Watch a movie.” Hitoka nods. “Yeah, that would be better than you both staying in your rooms not speaking.” She puts the washcloth down on the kitchen counter, and Kiyoko moves to give her a quick peck before saying, “I have to go.” Hitoka goes red all the way to the tips of her ears, but she clears her throat and looks at the clock on the wall. “Me too,” she says. 

“Let’s walk together.” Kiyoko offers, and Hitoka’s face grows redder, somehow. “Ugh,” Miwa says loudly, but it’s fond and she’s smiling at the two of them. “Have fun at the movies, Miwa.” Kiyoko says as they leave. 

“I haven’t even invited her yet!” Miwa calls out, but the door has already closed.

Well. Guess they're both gonna be stuck inside with nothing to do.

  
  


**TUESDAY**

Turns out Alisa had somewhere to be last night, so most of Miwa's guilt over not being a good host is alleviated. She's better off not talking to her anyway. Alisa is devastatingly pretty. Not that Miwa is invested enough to call it a crush, but Alisa is so light and otherworldly, and Miwa feels like she'll go blind from her hair or her eyes or her smile, if not all three. They'd had dinner in companionable but slightly uncomfortable silence, because Hitoka and Kiyoko decided to eat out after school.

Alisa stopped by her room in a pale blue sleep dress, hair worn down over her shoulders to say good night. Miwa forgot what she was doing on her laptop for two minutes, and decided to sleep it off.

Food is her job today, so she gets up some twenty minutes earlier than she usually does, and heads to the kitchen to find Alisa already there. "Good morning," she says, sounding chipper.

"G'morning," Miwa returns. There's a carton of milk on the counter and Alisa is holding a little food bowl in her delicate, pretty hands. "For the cat?" Miwa asks. "Yes, Koshka." Alisa smiles. Her eyes are a little puffy from sleep, and her hair sticks out funny in the back when she turns away to put the rest of the milk back in the fridge.

"Actually, where is she? I haven't really seen her since you first got here." Miwa says, craning her neck to look around the kitchen. "Haven't heard her meowing or anything either."

“Oh, she comes and she goes.” Alisa replies. She bends down to leave the bowl of milk under the table. “Hitoka-chan said that pets were allowed here so I figured I’d let her roam a little more freely.”

“I’ve literally never seen her,” Miwa says. “Not once.” 

“She’s a little shy,” Alisa shrugs. “She’ll come say hi when she’s ready." Alisa looks up at Miwa, and says, "We haven't really met or been alone together," she says. Then she extends a perfectly manicured hand, says, "I'm Alisa." Miwa takes it. "Yeah. Uh, Miwa." Their hands drop back to their sides, and they just kinda stand there. Miwa can feel herself going flush with embarrassment. Then they both speak at once.

"Do you need help cooking?"

"Would you like some breakfast?" 

Alisa's face breaks into that smile again. "If you'll let me help you make it, sure!"

Conversation moves easier when Miwa's not looking at her, she realizes. Her hands are busy and she can keep her eyes on what she's doing, and Miwa gets to talking about her work in photography.

"I work in the photography studio down the block, but the pictures I like best are the music house ones," Miwa tells her as she cracks an egg into a bowl, "Music photography is the coolest kind of pictures." Alisa nods. She's chopping up vegetables on the counter next to Miwa. 

"I saw your camera in the bedroom," Alisa says. "Have you been doing this long?" 

Miwa hasn't. It was for high school, a club she'd joined just so she could say she was in one at all. She took pictures of things, but nothing very special. Sometimes she'd edit them into black and white photos, just so it felt like she actually tried, but nothing about it felt particularly magical. Which was okay, you know? Not everything is big or grand or special. She takes photos for the rest of the year, develops and hangs up ones she likes, deletes the rest without second thought. 

She's in her second year when one of her clubmates mentions something about visiting a music house. Everyone brought their cameras, so Miwa did too. The first shot she had taken that night was her favorite; it was taken from a few tables away, focused on the guitarist whose head was bent down, fingers on his electric guitar. In the forefront, slightly blurred, the singer with her head tilted back, mouth open and two hands gripping the mic. She'd never seen a still moment feel so alive. 

"That's so cool," Alisa says. She looks like she really means it, and it makes Miwa's heart do something funny in her chest. “I’ve always wanted to do some photography, as a kid,” Alisa starts, “but I never really figured out how the cameras worked, which brands were best and all that.”

“It’s not about the camera,” Miwa replies. “It’s really more about what you want to capture. The moment you want to make last.”

Alisa looks up at her briefly, something flashing in her eyes as she quirks her mouth up. “Do all photographers talk about the moment they want to make last?” she teases.

Miwa snorts. “When they have one they like enough to remember, I guess.” Miwa starts the stove and places a pan on it. “So enough about me. What do you like?" Miwa asks. 

"Outside modelling?" Alisa hums thoughtfully. "I used to dance in high school. Ballet. I still do sometimes now, but it's not really something I get to spend as much time on anymore." Miwa nods understandingly, and Alisa continues, "Modelling takes up so much of my time. When I'm not having a shoot I'm on my way to one, which is--it's great too, you know? I'm not famous or anything, but I'm very lucky to get booked as much as I do. I think maybe I'm not really giving myself time for stuff I like." Miwa understands that too. Alisa sighs, just a soft, almost quiet one and Miwa only hears it because she's close enough.

Breakfast is fairly uneventful. Hitoka and Kiyoko have classes again, and they chide her for not going out with Alisa yesterday. "That's not my fault," Miwa says, spooning creamer into her coffee. "You both know how I am with making friends." Hitoka only sighs. "Try again?" she says. Miwa groans. "Fine." No one liked disappointing Hitoka.

By extension of Miwa not being the greatest at making friends, she ‘s come to be really comfortable with her own company. She doesn’t feel the need to say hi first, or invite people to hang out anywhere. And it’s fine, because she doesn’t mind being alone. But Alisa might, and she’s not interested in being the douche-y girl in an otherwise good friend group, so she takes Kiyoko’s advice about inviting Alisa to go hang out for the day. It’s a good idea, after all.

The execution is where Miwa falls flat. Miwa isn’t an impulsive person; just a little thoughtless. Like, yesterday she went to the bank but forgot to bring her card or her passbook, or the other day when she went grocery shopping to buy eggs, then went home with two big bags only to realize she had forgotten to buy eggs. So, you know. Thoughtless.

Another example would be now; Miwa had gotten up from the table to go to the bathroom and invite Alisa to see a movie. See where this is going wrong?

Miwa raps her knuckles on the door three times. “Alisa?” she asks. The sound of water stops abruptly, and Miwa remembers Alisa had been _showering_ , and she starts to look around frantically, unsure of what to say or do. The door knob twists, and Miwa, in a panic, grabs it, and keeps it there. The door rattles. Miwa keeps pulling the door closed. What the fuck is she doing, she thinks, before jerking her hands away and putting them up in the air. The door finally opens to reveal Alisa, wrapped in a little blue towel, blonde hair looking dark and wet and clinging to her skin.

“Yes?” Alisa asks.

“I--wondering--” Miwa stammers, mouth dry. Alisa is somehow still smiling through this, not even in a smug, mocking way. She smiles like she’s a preschool teacher and Miwa is a kindergartener she’s trying to get to speak in front of the class, what the hell. “Yes?” Alisa says encouragingly. Miwa finds herself following a rivulet of water trailing down from her wet hair, down her neck, her collarbone, before disappearing into her towel. Miwa jerks her eyes back up to her face so fast it’s a little dizzying.

“Movie,” she says weakly. More words, she needs to use more words. “This week.”

“I’d love that!” Alisa says. “Thanks for letting me know.” Miwa doesn’t trust herself enough to speak, so she just breathes hard through her nose, nods, then walks away.  
  


Koshka is in her bedroom when she comes inside. 

Not just in her bedroom--Koshka is napping on her bed, this gray tabby just right there, curled up on her sheets, sleeping peacefully. Miwa moves back to go call for Alisa, get her to pick her up off her bed. She’d do it herself, really, but she doesn’t have that great a history with, well, any animal ever. But Koshka is the smallest thing she’d ever seen in her life, and Miwa’s already bothered Alisa enough today, so against her better judgement, she decides to move her herself. 

Koshka’s eyes slip open the moment she takes her first step. Miwa’s getting ready for her to start hissing at the sight of her face but Koshka just.. sits up. Looks at her. This goes on for a few more minutes, until Miwa starts to feel ridiculous at how badly this cat terrifies her. Koshka continues to just stare. “Hello,” Miwa coos softly. 

Koshka meows back. 

That’s a straight shot of serotonin if Miwa’s ever had one. Insanely, she wonders if it would be normal for her to phone Tobio just to brag and say that a cat had meowed back at her after she said hi to it. She takes out her phone, angles the camera at Koshka, and tries again. Koshka blinks at her, slowly, before getting up to stretch, yawn, and exit through her window. 

  
  


**WEDNESDAY**

There are no good movies at the cinema today.

Miwa turns to Alisa, who is looking immaculate in a bright yellow cardigan and is already carrying around a bucket of popcorn, and says to her, “Choices are crap.” Miwa isn’t a film snob. It’s just that genuinely none of these movies look appealing to her, and on their way to the theatre she had asked Alisa if there was anything she wanted to see in particular. “Anything’s fine,” was her reply, so Miwa’s sort of made it her responsibility to find something worthwhile to see. She’s got nothing. Nothing at all.

Alisa scans the list of shows behind her for the briefest moment, before saying, “Okay. What do you wanna do instead?” 

That’s a tough question, right up there with _What do you wanna eat?_ and _How are you?_ , but Miwa’s already been thoughtless once today, she can do a bonus round easily. 

“Amusement park,” she says, without thinking. It’s actually not that bad of an idea, she realizes after she’s said it, except that she still needs to use more words and construct actual sentences when she speaks. Alisa looks delighted at the idea of an amusement park.

“Yes!” she goes, and they book a cab. Alisa offers her some popcorn, and Miwa finds herself smiling through a mouthful.

The last time Miwa remembers being at an amusement park was when she was in high school with her grandad and Tobio. Tobio had been terrified of the rollercoasters but incredibly good at the shooter games and the paper fishing game. They’d gone home with three goldfishes, an armful of cotton candy, and a sugar rush that was going to give their mom a headache.

Tokyo amusement parks aren’t that much different from the ones back home. There’s still throngs of people, rows upon rows of stalls and games and walls pinned with stuffed bears. The rides are bigger, she guesses, but the sound of it is the same, the loud cheerful laughter and screaming, and as soon as she and Alisa get their wrists stamped she feels a little like she’s fifteen again.

“I haven’t been to one of these in ages,” Alisa sighs dreamily. “Neither have I.” she replies. Then, “So where do you wanna go first?” Another bright, dazzling smile. This time, Miwa smiles with her.

They do the paper fishing game first, mainly because there isn’t a line there. Miwa misses all three attempts, but Alisa catches a little one that she ends up giving to a kid next to them who couldn’t catch her own. She says thank you and lets Alisa ruffle her hair, and Miwa feels herself swoon a little.

They try out the balloon dart games, and get on a few roller coasters. When they’ve decided they’ve had enough of that, they try out the one that straps them to a series of chairs that goes up this tower and then just _drops_ , and Miwa is delighted to find that Alisa’s laugh sounds nothing like her. She’d expected something sparkly, to match the way she looked or the way she spoke. Something with the tinkling wind chime kind of pretty, but Alisa laughs with her head thrown back and her mouth wide open, and that makes the laughter bubble out of her chest too. Alisa holds her hand through each fall from the drop tower, fingers squeezing hers so hard it hurts. Miwa doesn’t mind it in the slightest.

They go to the house of mirrors next, careful as they navigate their way through the abyss of reflections and blinking lights in the otherwise dim room. Alisa’s still holding her hand, and Miwa means to not think too much of it, because Alisa seems like she’s just the type to be like this. Open and affectionate and close enough to touch. That doesn’t stop her from holding her hand right back, and they both still in shock when they see a random kid sprint down the hall and into a mirror. The little kid sits up, sees them, laugh, and starts running in another direction. They share a look, and then burst into more laughter.

The day draws to a close with them on the Ferris wheel. Alisa had insisted on it. “It’s the only way to end a day at the amusement park,” she explains, and she could say other things that didn’t make sense to Miwa, but Miwa would still say, “Okay, you’re right.”

The Ferris wheel slows down after a few having brought them around a few times. Miwa peers out the window and watches as the crowd slowly grows thinner, and people exit the bottom cars. When she looks up, she finds Alisa doing the same, backlit by the sun sinking low and washing her in a soft glow.

"A photograph would last longer," Alisa says when she catches Miwa's stare. Frankly speaking, Miwa is well past embarrassment at being caught, instead says, "I don't have my camera with me." 

"I thought you said photography was about the moment, not the camera." This is flirting, right? Alisa is flirting, in the way she's looking up through lashes that are too long to be real, with a gaze so intense it feels like all of her is seen in this one look.

"Okay," Miwa says. "You're right." She takes out her phone, points the camera at Alisa, and the artificial shutter sound goes off. She thinks about moments, and love stories that happen three hundred feet in the air instead of thirty thousand.

**THURSDAY**

The next day is busy for them, because both Miwa and Alisa have work, and Hitoka has classes. Alisa’s photoshoot starts at ten am and ends at one, so in the afternoon on her way home she stops by the grocery and buys them all a massive tub of ice cream. She and Kiyoko watch Grey’s Anatomy all day, and when Miwa gets home she and Kiyoko are talking about out all the things medical dramas get wrong.

“The one thing I’ll never forgive though?” Kiyoko starts, before clearing her throat and closing her eyes dramatically, _“So pick me, choose me, love me!”_ Alisa laughs so hard she swears she’s got rocky road stuck up her nose.

Koshka is on her belly, purring comfortably, and when Miwa joins them Alisa scooches over to give her room to sit next to her. 

“Hi,” she says. 

“Hi,” Miwa says back. And then, because she’s feeling brave, she says hello to Koshka too. Koshka meows, and Alisa moves to sit closer to Miwa. Their shoulders touch, and her hands are cradling the little cat carefully as she moves to rest her on Miwa’s arms. Kiyoko is eyeing them both from her end of the couch, the slightest hint of a smile on her face. Seemingly apropos of nothing, Kiyoko tells them both, “Tachycardia is the medical term for a heart rate of over a hundred beats per minute.”

Blushing, Miwa turns to her and says, “What's the medical term for when I first found out you and Hitoka were dating?”

Kiyoko only laughs. 

  
  


**FRIDAY**

“I’ve got a new apartment,” Alisa announces over breakfast that morning. 

Which is a good thing, because Alisa was only meant to stay for a few days anyway. That meant the room would get freed up again, and she wouldn’t have to worry about socializing and worrying if she was being rude. “Okay,” Miwa says quickly, which is awkward. “That’s a good thing.”

“It is,” Alisa says, and Miwa can’t help but note the distinct lack of smiling from her. Kiyoko and Hitoka both try to talk about other things during the meal, with Alisa interjecting occasionally. Miwa means to be a part of the conversation but it’s hard. Which is weird, she doesn’t really struggle with talking to Hitoka or Kiyoko. And as evidenced by how comfortable they are together, she shouldn’t struggle with Alisa either. But breakfast tastes a little less appealing than it did when they started, and her day at the studio is monotonous and just a little bleak.

“You okay there?” her coworker asks her. “Yeah.” she says flatly. And then, “I’m going over to _Lounge_ ,” she tells him. “Do you wanna come with?”

 _Lounge_ is a music-house-slash-restobar she found after a five minute Google within her first hour of moving to Tokyo. She’d been nervous and anxious about being away and being alone, despite having housemates. So she goes back to what she knows best; concert photography. The house is open from twelve noon to three in the morning, and she’s probably being a little unreasonable by coming in at four and meaning to stay until closing, but who’s to stop her?

“Miwa!” Saeko, the bar owner, says hi when she spots her. Saeko’s got bright blonde hair and too many piercings to count, and Miwa adores her. She’s the single coolest person Miwa knows, and if it wouldn’t give her mom a heart attack she’d have let Saeko pierce her nose the first time she’d offered to do it. “What brings you here?” she asks.

“Kinda stressed?” Miwa says, sounding unsure. “I don’t know. Just things.”

Saeko nods understandingly. “Well I won’t press, but you can have a beer on me!” Miwa smiles, gives her a thumbs up, and starts taking photos. 

The photos come out a little weighted. She can’t explain it. They’re not out of focus or blurred or straight up bad. They’re just.. weird and awkward and Miwa’s really not enjoying how the thing that’s supposed to help her unwind is stressing her out even more. She snaps a few photos of the stage, the singers, the drums. She takes one of the bar, and Saeko smiling with a bottle of tequila and looking like she’s about to do terrible things. She takes one of the door, where people are slipping in, one by one. She inspects the last one, fiddles around with the ISO before aiming it back at the door to find three familiar faces. Miwa lowers the camera.

“Figured you’d be here,” Hitoka says, walking up to her and giving her a hug. “Kiyoko and I are having shots, you and your girl need to talk.” “My girl?” she means to ask, but it’s pretty pointless because Hitoka’s face is her Curlz font face; she’s taking no nonsense today. Miwa looks back at the door and sees Alisa. She’s wearing the same skinny jeans she did when they went to the amusement park, but she’s paired it with a ripped up band tee. 

  
“You look like a singer,” Miwa starts. Then, her eyes dart to the floor, like she feels like she couldn’t look her in the eyes right now.

“You’re lucky I’m not,” Alisa replies. “This place looks really nice, I’d hate to make all the people want to leave when I get on stage.” Miwa laughs at that, shyly, in the way her eyes are still focused on the ground. They don’t speak for a while. On stage, the song fades into a close, and people clap in scatters around them. The singer thanks them, before going off to introduce their next song. 

“Talking is hard,” he says into the mic. “So this song is to help you guys out with that.” and people start clapping once more. The band kicks into a cool drum-guitar intro, and Alisa and Miwa speak at once.

“I’d still like to--

“I’m gonna miss--”

Alisa exhales heavily, and Miwa says, “You first.” Alisa licks her lips, blinking several times. “I just--” She exhales, tucking loose strands of her hair away from her face. “I just think I’d like-- I’d like to still hang out.” She breathes out, shoulders slumping, and she tries a smile again, small and hopeful. And Miwa’s always had a spot in her heart for the smile. 

“I’m gonna miss,” Miwa starts, fumbling. Alisa looks at her patiently. “Koshka.” Miwa says slowly. 

From behind her, she can hear Hitoka actually groan. “Shh, I’m focusing!” Miwa calls out behind her shoulder, before rubbing her hands all over her face, and Alisa actually laughs at that. When Miwa turns back at her she’s biting her lip, like she’s trying not to grin, and somehow it’s the image of her fighting off a smile Miwa put there that makes her power through what else she has to say.

“I am not great at this,” she says weakly. 

“I don’t mind.” She tucks a lock of Miwa’s hair behind her ear, and Miwa swears the feeling of Alisa’s skin on hers still feels every bit as electric as it did the first time.

“What’s the medical term for when I'm very bad at this but I’d really like to see you again?” Miwa asks, and Alisa blushes, pink and pretty. 

“I don’t know,” Alisa says. “What’s the medical term for when I want to ask you out on a date?” she counters. This time it’s Miwa’s turn to go red.

“No idea,” she shrugs, “But I do know that I’d love that.” Alisa grins, full force, and Miwa raises her camera to snap a photo of that. The photo comes out blurry, because Alisa's too excited to stand still, and her hands are unsteady with the rabbit-fast pulse of her heart; but photos were never about the cameras, or how they come out. This is a moment, Miwa thinks, Alisa mid-laugh, eyes crinkling at the corners, and Miwa only wants to make it last. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> FELLAS IS IT GAY TO FALL IN LOVE BC A CUTE GIRL SMILED AT U. this was in large part written on my phone, so the formatting is kinda wonky but i'll fix it as soon as i get on a computer!
> 
> the song i had in mind for that last bit is called sidekick by walk the moon, from their album talking is hard. its one of my all time favorites. thank you so much for reading, and again to vic, who is an angel. i hope you enjoyed!!


End file.
